Warriors the New Dawn: Rise of the Ancients
by Cats of the New Dawn
Summary: Many years have passed since the most recent Warriors books, and the clans have changed. The new clans, Sunclan, Mistclan, Darkclan, and Stoneclan have moved to a new forest, and are living peacefully, but peace never lasts forever. There is a dark evil rising, and the fate of the clans rests in the paws of five young cats.
1. Chapter 1

**By Eaglestorm, Moonstar of Mistclan, Nightstripe, and a couple of their friends without fanfic accounts. This is a group account for all of them to use.**

 **A Brief Introduction: This is a fanfiction of the Warriors series, but it takes place many years in the future, in which four new clans have travelled to a new territory, completely remaking the clans with different abilities, personalities, and cats. This is the story of five apprentices that join together to stop an ancient evil.**

Allegiances

Sunclan

Leader: Barkstar (Dark brown and black tom)

Deputy: Willowwing (Tan and white calico she-cat)

Medicine cat: Littleleaf (Small ginger and brown tom)

Warriors:

Moonwatcher (White and brown tom with strangely white eyes)

Bramblespot (Small russet colored she-cat with brown spots)

Apprentice, Thistlepaw

BuzzardShade (Short furred tom with black pelt and yellow chest)

Snowsplash (Long furred white she-cat with blueish-gray splash on her side)

Thrushflight (Pale and dark brown tortoiseshell tom with a winglike pattern on his pelt)

Sageflower (A large she-cat with dark green eyes and a white and gray pelt)

Seedfeather (Light gray tom with small brown spots and a black forehead)

Dewflower (Black tom with light gray front paws and piercing blue eyes)

Cherryheart (Reddish she-cat with brown ear tips) Apprentice, Birchpaw

Charrepelt (Ash gray tom with darker tabby stripes) Apprentice, Flamepaw

Graypelt (Dark gray tom with white head and legs) Apprentice, Icepaw

Molenose (Dark brown tom with very round black nose)

Perchfoot (White she-cat with smushed in face and brown feet)

Lilydapple (White she-cat with gray dapples and pink eyes)

Pinefrost (Dark brownish-green tom)

Blackstripe (Black and gray striped tom)

Elders:

Cloudwisp (Grumpy long haired tom with wispy white fur)

Spottedtail (Pretty gray she-cat with black spots on her tail)

Darkfur (The oldest elder with an incredibly dark black pelt and green eyes)

Apprentices:

Flamepaw (Short haired ginger tom with darker tabby stripes and blue eyes)

Icepaw (short haired White she-cat with blue eyes and a gray tail tip)

Thistlepaw (Gray tom with spiky fur and black ears)

Birchpaw (Long haired small tan colored tom)

Queens:

Hollowleap (Ginger queen with white tail and chest fur)

Flowerlight (Tortoiseshell queen with Brown paws)

Squirrelfur (Tan queen with black face, chest, and paws)

Kits:

Harekit (Long eared white she-kit)

Scorchkit (Ginger and black tom)

Featherkit (Gray short haired she-kit)

Robinkit (Black tabby tom)

Ravenkit (Dark and light gray tabby tom with yellow eyes)

Darkclan:

Leader: Shadowstar (Large short-haired gray and white tom)

Deputy: Snakeheart (Long-haired orange and white tom)

Apprentice: Nightpaw

Medicine cat: Toadeye (Older tabby tom with brown pelt)

Warriors:

Blizzardpelt (Fierce white tom)

Apprentice, Riverpaw

Spiderstep (Dark brown striped she-cat)

Ravenflight (Calico tom)

Apprentice, Quickpaw

Mosseyes (Newly made warrior white and black tom)

Timberfur (Brown and white tom)

Briarstem (Hostile calico she-cat)

Ashshade (Dark gray she-cat)

Ryefur (Golden yellow tom)

Loudheart (White and black spotted tom)

Smokestem (Gray she-cat with black winding stripes)

Wildpatch (Brown tom splattered with gray spots)

Echotalon (Dark orange tom)

Apprentice: Runningpaw

Elders:

Clawstripe (Dark brown tom with black jagged stripes)

Firetail (Ginger tailed white she-cat)

Queens:

Amberdrop (Light brown long haired she-cat with black paws)

Ivycloud (Mossy colored she-cat)

Mallowtail (Silver tabby she-cat)

Apprentices:

Nightpaw (Black long haired tom with green eyes)

Riverpaw (Dark gray tom)

Quickpaw (Light brown tom)

Runningpaw (Light yellow and white she-cat)

Kits

Frogkit (Light gray tom)

Shrewkit (Brown tabby tom)

Honeykit (Golden and yellow striped she-cat)

Barkkit (Dark brown tabby tom)

Stoneclan

Leader: Gravelstar (Gray tom with black spots)

Deputy: Foxtail (Bushy tailed pale ginger she-cat)

Medicine cats:

Mintleaf (She-cat with spiked up tail and white pelt)

Apprentice, Swallowpaw

Ashnose (Black she-cat)

Apprentice, Reedpaw

Warriors:

Whitesky (Large white she-cat with blue eyes)

Stonestream (Grayish blue tom)

Thrushfeather (Light gray and white tom with brown eyes)

Ripplefur (Wispy furred brown she-cat with white paws)

Heatherpelt (Ginger she-cat with white chest)

Embertalon (Long clawed orangish-brown tom)

Apprentice, Dewpaw

Briarshade (Tan she-cat with orange bushy tail)

Mapleleaf (Black and white tom with weirdly short tail)

Speckleface (Brown she-cat with black spots on head)

Apprentice, Grasspaw

Daisysplash (Black she-cat with gray splotches and ginger paws)

Clovertuft (Almost green gray furred tom)

Volepelt (Gray and brown furred tom)

Lionpelt (Golden furred tom)

Elders

Copperheart (White chested brown she-cat with matted fur)

Eagleshine (Brown fur with white muzzle)

Jaypelt (Grey chested tom with short fur)

Apprentices

Dewpaw (Gray tom with brown paws)

Grasspaw (Long furred tan colored she-cat)

Swallowpaw (White tabby tom)

Reedpaw (brown tom with bushy tail and long whiskers)

Queens

Shadespot (Pitch black spotted white she-cat)

Poppyspring (White and gray she-cat)

Gladeshine (Shiny silver tom)

Kits

Larkkit (Reddish tom)

Splashkit (Bluish-gray she-kit)

Crowkit (Gray and black tom)

Beetlekit (Brown and gray tom)

Smokekit (Light gray she-kit with white chest)

Amberkit (Dark golden furred tom)

Mistclan:

Leader: Froststar (White she-cat with blue eyes)

Deputy: Sandfur (Tan and brown she-cat)

Apprentice, Gorsepaw

Medicine cat: Ferntail (Small white and brown spotted she-cat)

Warriors:

Mossfoot (Black-furred tom, with one brown paw)

Apprentice, Moonpaw

Brightcloud (gray and black she-cat)

Brackentail (Dark brown speckled tom)

Branchwhisker (Pretty light-brown tabby she-cat)

Stonetooth (Dark gray tom with white stripes)

Apprentice, Windpaw

Owlfeather (Light and dark Gray speckled tom)

Stormface (White tabby tom, with a white and grey striped face)

Rosethorn (Brownish-green she-cat)

Shinewing (Pretty white she-cat with blue eyes)

Breezeheart (light gray and brown she-cat)

Apprentice, Streampaw

Weaseltooth (Gruff brown tabby tom)

Heronflight (Bluish-gray tom)

Duskpelt (Very dark gray tom, with streaks of orange on his pelt)

Snowflight (White she-cat)

Apprentice, Sparkpaw

Apprentices:

Moonpaw (Long-furred, gray and white striped tom with blue eyes)

Gorsepaw (Light-brown tabby she-cat)

Sparkpaw (Darkish ginger long-furred tabby tom)

Streampaw (Silver-furred she-cat)

Windpaw (White and black striped she-cat)

Elders:

Thrushtail (Gray tabby tom with a brown tail)

Grayfrost (Gray and brown striped she-cat)

Hazelshade (Golden-brown she-cat)

Queens:

Echowhisper (Fluffy, brown-furred she-cat)

Snowfoot (Black-furred she-cat with white feet)

Blossomflight (Tan fluffy she-cat)

Kits:

Lightningkit (Golden-furred tabby tom.)

Songkit (White and brown striped she-cat)

Swiftkit (Small, reddish-brown she-cat)

Tansykit (Brown she-cat with a orange splash on her chest)

Antkit (Dark brown furred tabby tom)

Shrewkit (Brown and white furred tom)

Russetkit (Reddish-orange calico she-cat)


	2. Chapter 2

Flame

Chapter 1

Flame crept around the metal object being as quiet as possible. He couldn't let the disgusting beast he knew was behind the object detect him.

Flame was an ginger colored tabby tom who had been born to housefolk. He had become bored with the cushy lifestyle and had left to find new adventures in new lands. It had so far been just six moons and he had traveled in a single direction for what felt like forever, yet he had run into not even a hint of forest. Flame was beginning to lose hope.

He hadn't yet learned the ways of hunting and fighting so he had barely survived against the hardships of being alone. He was currently attempting to escape from a dog that clearly wanted him dead. He acted quickly. Jumping out from his cover and bounding towards a large expanse of trees near his position.

 _Is that… a forest? Finally, a way out of this miserable place!_ He was an incredibly fast runner which reassured him that he would be able to escape, but something in the back of his mind was nibbling away at his confidence like a hungry mouse. He had almost made it when he tripped over a lone root and tumbled to the ground. The dog sprang forward and stood over him drooling and obviously looking forward to eating him.

 _I need to get out of here!_ He thought. Suddenly a tan colored cat sprinted from a bush behind him followed by multiple larger cats that ambushed the dog, easily taking it down with sheer numbers. "Thank you!" Flame said gratefully.

"Hmph." Grumbled one of the larger cats with gray stripes running down his back. _That was mean._ Flame thought. As if he was reading Flame's mind, the small tan cat said:

"Don't mind him. Blackstripe is grumpy to everyone! My name is Birchpaw."

"That's a bit of a strange name." Flame replied.

"It's my apprentice name! When I'm a warrior I'll get a new name with a different second half!" Birchpaw declared.

"That's still a weird name! What's a warrior? What's an apprentice? None of this makes sense!" Flame exclaimed.

"You have a lot to learn. Here! let me bring you to our camp and show you around. I will have to ask Barkstar about you joining the clan." Birchpaw said quickly.

"Clan? I've heard of the clans of wildcats." Flame mewed.

A few of the warriors who hadn't left yet nodded. "We could use more cats." One of them said.

"Then I'll come with you. It'll be much better than what I've been dealing with lately." With that, Flame left with the warriors to their camp.


	3. Chapter 3

Nightpaw

Chapter 2

Nightpaw crept through the pine forest. He could feel his mentor, Snakeheart, watching him. Nightpaw was stalking a thrush, and he was trying to get his technique right this time.

After what had happened last time…

No. He didn't want to think about it. Nightpaw was getting closer and closer. He gathered his strength in his haunches, and pounced.

Nightpaw sailed through the air and landed on the thrush before it could move. He knocked it to the ground and snapped its neck in one quick movement. "Good job, but you'll have to do better if you want to feed the clan." said Snakeheart. Snakeheart was the deputy of Darkclan, so his standards were high.

"Well I think it was a great catch!" retorted his friend Riverpaw.

"That is not for you to decide," Riverpaw's mentor Blizzardpelt replied.

"Can we just continue hunting?" Nightpaw asked, fidgeting impatiently.

"Okay, go ahead, and come back to camp when you've caught four pieces of prey. If you're not done when the moon rises get back to camp anyway. At night you're more likely to cross the border, and I wouldn't put anything past Mistclan."

"Okay, I'll race you to Foxtree!" shouted Nightpaw.

"You're on," Riverpaw challenged. All you could hear were caterwauls of excitement as the two friends raced into the woods...

"Nightpaw? I'm scared" said Riverpaw.

"It's okay, Riverpaw," said Nightpaw. Then five Mistclan cats came out of the bushes.

"w-we- we must have strayed across the borderline." said Nightpaw.

"What are you Darkclan cats doing here!?" Screeched a silver tabby named Breezeheart.

"We, we just need to be l-leaving now… hehe." Riverpaw stuttered. "Oh no you don't!" Yowled another Mistclan warrior named Duskpelt.

"Yeah!" Reinforced by her apprentice Streampaw, Breezeheart sprang forward landing directly on Nightpaw.

The two rolled on the ground in a screeching mass of fur fighting against each other with powerful ferocity. Duskpelt and another cat called Heronflight slowly crept forward and advanced on Riverpaw.

Nightpaw slashed at Breezeheart as much as he could sending small amounts of blood whenever he landed a solid hit. Nightpaw was outmatched by the much larger warrior and was being slashed at much more than he was able to do back to Breezeheart.

This would surely end badly for Nightpaw and Riverpaw. Riverpaw was having twice as much trouble battling the other two warriors along with Streampaw who had joined in a bit later.

He was doing his best to attack all of them at once while making sure he was not hit but it wouldn't work. They were outnumbered and outmatched! There was nothing they could do!

Suddenly a force of Darkclan cats jumped from the shadows screeching and yowling.

The Mistclan warriors were so surprised that they jumped away from the apprentices and stared in shock at the Darkclan warriors. Without saying a word, one of the warriors flicked his tail as a sign to attack and sprang forward along with the rest of the cats.

The sudden arrival of help triggered new confidence in Nightpaw and he began attacking with newfound strength and drove Breezeheart back into the bushes.

By this point the patrol had driven all of the Mistclan warriors back to the bushes.

"That was awesome!" Said Riverpaw with excitement, "There was Mistclan and then we were fighting, and then more warriors came, and then…"


	4. Chapter 4

Moonpaw

Chapter 3

"Y-you won't defeat me again!" stammered Moonpaw, staring down Gorsepaw. Gorsepaw was a light-brown tabby she-cat who was training with Moonpaw.

Moonpaw was a small white and gray striped tabby tom, who was a member of Mistclan. He was a small apprentice, even by Mistclan standards, which generally had the smallest and quickest cats. Mistclan cats primarily hunted rabbits on the moor, but they would go after the occasional bird or mouse if they got the chance.

"I don't think so!" Gorsepaw yowled launching herself at Moonpaw. Terrified, Moonpaw glanced back at his mentor, Mossfoot, who gave an encouraging look to him.

 _Well_ _no help from him then,_ Moonpaw thought.

"Use your small size against her!"

 _Maybe he will be helpful,_

"Stop standing there and fight!" Mossfoot yowled. "Ok!" Moonpaw chirped. Gorsepaw dashed at Moonpaw, and leaped, paws outstretched.

"Go! use the strategy we practiced!" Mossfoot yowled.

" _Well it can't hurt to try!"_ Moonpaw thought. With a defiant yowl, Moonpaw launched himself forward - and right under the outstretched paws of Gorsepaw. Gorsepaw flew over Moonpaw with a surprised yowl. Moonpaw turned and leaped at Gorsepaw, nearly bowling her over. Gorsepaw turned and swiped at Moonpaw but Moonpaw ducked and the blow flew over him. Moonpaw darted forward and crashed into Gorsepaw's legs. With a surprised mew Gorsepaw stumbled while Moonpaw shot out the other side tripping her back legs on the way. Gorsepaw stumbled… and fell. Quickly, Moonpaw jumped on top of her and pinned her down with all his might.

"Get off me!" Gorsepaw protested, struggling to get free. Despite his size, Moonpaw somehow managed to keep the large she-cat down.

"I finally beat you!" He exclaimed, so excited that he loosened his grip, giving Gorsepaw a chance to throw him off and climb to her feet.

"It'll take more than that!" She crowed triumphantly. Moonpaw grimaced. Why did Gorsepaw have to be so mean? He charged at his denmate, slamming into her. The apprentice hardly budged. Moonpaw darted around Gorsepaw while the she-cat looked for an opening. She tried to catch him on the side with a powerful swipe, but Moonpaw dodged the attack and jumped towards Gorsepaw.

"Take this!" He yelled. He landed hard on his opponent and battered her with his paws. He jumped back off of Gorsepaw and stood there, panting.

"Wow, that was pretty good." Gorsepaw said, shaking the dust from her fur, "However, it wasn't enough!" The she-cat heaved herself forwards with a new attack.

"Try it again!" Mossfoot demanded. Moonpaw nodded at him and ducked, but Gorsepaw was prepared this time. She landed directly on Moonpaw and attempted to pin him, but Moonpaw slithered out from under her. He Dashed at Gorsepaw and rammed into her while she was still recovering. This time she wasn't able to stand her ground. The big apprentice staggered back and slumped on the ground.

"Oof!" She huffed. Moonpaw ran forward and put his paw on her neck before she could stand.

Mossfoot padded over to the two young cats. "Moonpaw is the winner!" He exclaimed. Moonpaw released Gorsepaw and fell backwards, panting. He had finally beat Gorsepaw! Originally Moonpaw had thought he wasn't cut out to be a warrior, but maybe he was good enough after all.

"Nice fight." Gorsepaw mewed.

"Yeah, nice fight!" Moonpaw agreed. Gorsepaw stood up and shook herself off once more.

"Moonpaw, you may be small, but your agility is great. If you use that to your advantage, you can beat any opponent." Mossfoot praised, "And Gorsepaw, your attacks are powerful, but not quick. If you work on your timing, you can get in a good hit."

Gorsepaw nodded to Mossfoot. Her mentor, Sandfur, was the clan deputy, so she often needed another mentor to train with while Sandfur was working on deputy business. "Thanks, Mossfoot. I'll make sure to work on that." She mewed.

"And Moonpaw, your confidence isn't the best. Once you're more confident in your own ability, defeating opponents will prove much less of a daunting task." Mossfoot advised.

"I will take that into mind, Mossfoot." Moonpaw said. Mossfoot was right, he would need to be more confident if he wanted to win any battles. The last thing he wanted was to freeze up in the middle of combat.

"Come on," Mossfoot mewed, "It's about time we hunted. The clan needs more food." He beckoned for the two apprentices to follow and pelted across the moor in search of prey. Moonpaw dashed after him at full speed, quickly evening his pace with his mentor. He looked back as he ran and saw Gorsepaw sprinting just behind them.

 _Let's see. Fresh-kill, anyone?_ Moonpaw thought as he scanned the moor around him for prey. He spotted the light gray ears of a rabbit bobbing up and down just behind a small rise. He broke away from the group and ran towards the soon to be fresh-kill. Soon the rabbit came into view, just waiting to be eaten. It lifted it's head and looked around, spotting the gray apprentice. Alert of his presence, it started bounding away from him.

 _You won't get away!_ Moonpaw increased his speed until he started gaining on the rabbit. He came up behind it and pinned it down. He killed it in one quick movement before it could escape his grasp.

"Nice catch!" Moonpaw heard from somewhere near him. He raised his head from his recent catch and looked around, seeing a group of a few cats approaching him. He recognized his denmate Streampaw, her mentor Breezeheart, his sister Branchwhisker, and Owlfeather. Streampaw was a silver-furred she-cat, Breezeheart was a light gray and brown she-cat, Branchwhisker was a light brown tabby, and Owlfeather was a light and dark gray speckled tom. He assumed that the four cats were out on patrol.

"Thanks!" He replied, "How's the patrol going?"

"Fine. Even though they won, the Darkclan border has been quiet since the fight." Owlfeather said.

"I like to think of that as not a loss, but an experience to help us learn their weaknesses. Next time we fight, we will win." Breezeheart mewed, sheathing and unsheathing her claws as if she was ready to sink them into a warrior's fur.

"We would have won if I was there!" Streampaw declared, also looking ready to attack.

"Hey, Moonpaw!" A voice called. Moonpaw turned to see Gorsepaw and Mossfoot padding over. "Next time, tell us before you run off!" Gorsepaw told him.

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly. He held up his newly caught rabbit for them to see. "I have this."

"That'll feed a few cats." Mossfoot said, looking at Moonpaw's plump catch. "Hey, everyone."

The patrol nodded their greeting to the warrior. "We'd best be going now." Owlfeather mewed.

"He's right." Branchwhisker said, "We need to finish our patrol." She looked eager to get going. "Bye, Moonpaw."

"Bye, guys!" Moonpaw replied. He watched the patrol slowly pad away until they were out of his vision. He turned back to Gorsepaw and Mossfoot. "Shall we keep hunting?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Gorsepaw agreed.

"Then let's go." Mossfoot said. He set off across the moorland in search of more prey, his mentor and denmate hot on his heels.

 _I'll be the best warrior!_


	5. Chapter 5

Reedpaw

Chapter 4

"Hey, Ashnose! I think I found what we need!" Reedpaw called over to his mentor. Reedpaw was an apprentice of Stoneclan, and he had just started his training to be a medicine cat. He was a light brown tom with a very bushy tail and long whiskers.

"Oh, that's perfect! I was just looking for some marigold!" Ashnose exclaimed, looking at the orange flower Reedpaw was looking at. Ashnose was a pitch black she-cat, and Reedpaw's mentor.

"How's it going over there, Swallowpaw?" Reedpaw called to his friend who was pulling some cobwebs off of a bush. Swallowpaw was also training to be a medicine cat, just like Reedpaw. Stoneclan was very focused around medicine and healing, so they had two different medicine cats. Swallowpaw was a white tabby tom.

"It's going fine, but these cobwebs are quite stubborn." Swallowpaw replied frustratedly.

"Let me help you." Mintleaf, a white she-cat and Swallowpaw's mentor, mewed. She padded over to him and expertly tore the cobweb from where it clung to the limbs of the bush.

"Thanks, Mintleaf." Swallowpaw responded, moving on to a chervil bush. Mintleaf nodded to him and turned away to continue searching for herbs. Stoneclan had been recently hit by a bout of whitecough, which was very rare in greenleaf.

"I still don't understand how this whitecough came about." Ashnose mewed, her voice muffled by the leaves she was carrying.

"Starclan must not be on our side this season." Mintleaf replied as she picked off the leaves of some coltsfoot.

"Should we visit the Moontree to consult them?" Swallowpaw asked them. The Moontree was the place where they could communicate with Starclan easily.

"No, we can handle this on our own. It shows no sign of turning into greencough, so we should be fine for now." Ashnose reassured the medicine cat apprentice.

"I think we have enough herbs to fill up our store here." Mintleaf said once she finished collecting the coltsfoot, "Should we head back?"

"Sure." Ashnose replied, "Come on, you two, carry all you can and let's head to camp." She angled her ears to the herbs that Reedpaw and Swallowpaw had collected. He nodded and bent down to pick up some dock leaves, careful not to rip their fragile frames.

"No, no! You've got it all wrong!" Mintleaf huffed. She walked over to Reedpaw.

"Got what wrong?" He asked, confused.

"You can carry much more than that at a time." She told him, "Here, watch me." She bent her head and picked up some leaves in her teeth like Reedpaw had done.

 _There's nothing different about that!_ Reedpaw thought, but Mintleaf hadn't finished. After she picked up the leaves, she curled her chin under a few more of them and held them to her chest.

Her eyes said, _See, you did it wrong._ She couldn't physically say it, though, because of the herbs she carried.

"That looks ridiculous!" Reedpaw exclaimed, staring at the medicine cat's weird position.

"Swallowpaw's doing it." Ashnose pointed out, pointing to Reedpaw's friend with her nose. Swallowpaw was, in fact, doing the same thing as Mintleaf. He sighed heavily and tried to curl his chin under a few more leaves. They easily slipped away from him though, causing him to growl.

"This is frustrating." He stated. Eventually he managed to keep the leaves from falling out. He lifted his head, but quickly noticed a tickling feeling the leaves gade on his chest. It took a lot of effort to keep them from falling out again, but he kept them in place. Now Ashnose had done the same as the other medicine cats, so none could talk. They had collected almost all the herbs that they found, and they could come back for the extras later.

 _This isn't so bad._ He thought. The other medicine cats turned away and started back to camp. There were a lot of streams in Stoneclan territory, but most of them had easy routes across aside from swimming, which might be difficult when they carried all those leaves and stems.

"Here, take this. It should help you." Ashnose mewed softly as she fed an orange tom named Embertalon some hawkweed.

"Thanks Ashn-" Embertalon's words were cut off by him having a violent coughing fit. "Thanks, Ashnose." He finished when he was done coughing.

 _He's gotten worse._ Reedpaw thought. There was a total of three sick cats in the medicine cat's den at the moment, which meant they were short on warriors. They needed to get these cats healed up so that they could serve their clan's once more.

"Get me some catmint, will you?" Ashnose asked Reedpaw. He nodded and rushed back to their store of herbs. Being a medicine cat was great. Whether the clan had healthy warriors or not was up to them. He was really serving his clan! This was how his life should be, and he never wanted it to change.

 _Never!_


	6. Chapter 6

Baxter

Chapter 5

 _No! I have to run!_ Baxter thought as he stared right down the gleaming eyes of a monster.

Baxter was a long furred golden tom, and a loner. He honestly didn't know any more than that, other than his name. He had no memory of his family, or where he was born. All he really knew was that he had to survive. He was only six or seven moons old, and he had been surviving on his own for at least three moons.

The monster roared loudly as it approached him. Baxter stood there, frozen with fear. _No! I have to move!_ He forced his limbs to start running, but it wasn't enough. Just before the monster slammed into him, he leapt off the thunderpath. Just when he thought he was clear of the monster, it veered to the side and caught his rear with one of the reflective things that protruded from the sides. A streak of horrible pain shot up his body, and he was sent flying away by the hit.

He landed hard on a moor like area. The extreme pain was blurring his vision and all of his other senses, so he just laid there and listened to the loud noise of the monster to disappear into the distance.

 _I'm going to die here._ He thought. His vision kept blurring, and the pain didn't go down. He just felt terrible. He laid unmoving for what felt like hours, until he started hearing voices and seeing blurry shapes looking down at him.

"What do you think happened?" Said a gray and white tom.

"I don't know, but I say we leave him." Said a brown she-cat.

"Have some compassion. We should take him back to camp and have Ferntail take a look at him." Said a larger black tom. They continued speaking until he felt himself being shaken. His vision cleared and he saw them more clearly. Two were younger, just older than him, and the other was a full grown cat.

"Hello? What happened to you?" The gray tom asked, stopping his shaking.

"Yeah, why are you lying on our territory?" The she-cat demanded. He saw the black tom cuff her over the ear.

"I was…" He felt like he was in too much pain to speak. "Hit by a… monster."

"Oh, that's terrible!" The small tom exclaimed, "We have to bring him back!"

The black tom nodded to the smaller gray cat. "We will, Moonpaw. We would never leave a cat out her to die like this." Baxter felt himself being slung over the shoulder of the black tom. He didn't move, he was much to worn out to. The tom and the two smaller cats began walking somewhere, but he didn't care where. As long as it had food and somewhere to rest, he was fine with it.

"Hey, my name's Moonpaw!" The gray tom mewed cheerfully to him. "This is Gorsepaw," He angled his ears to the brown she-cat, "And the cat carrying you is my mentor, Mossfoot."

 _Mentor?_ Baxter didn't know what any of this meant, but again, he didn't care. He soon slipped into an uncomfortable sleep as he was being carried.

Baxter awoke to find himself in a small clearing surrounded by trees. It was dark, because there was no moon or stars. _Where am I?_ He wondered, looking around.

"Please…" He heard a moan from behind him. He whipped around and saw nothing.

"Help us…" The moan continued.

"Who's there?" He called.

Suddenly many images flashed before his eyes. He saw huge cats with manes, cats with stars in their paws, five cats gathered in a clearing, and finally, blood. Pools and pools filled with blood.

 _What is this? Someone, help me!_ With that, Baxter was jerked into awakeness.


	7. Chapter 7

Nightpaw

Chapter 6

"No! You are too visible," Snakeheart scolded.

Even on the way to a battle, he still had to point out mistakes. Darkclan needed more land and more food, so they had sent a patrol to claim land from Mistclan on the moor. Nightpaw was part of the patrol, and if he saw any Mistclan members, he was going to show them which Clan was the best. After winning the previous battle, he expected this one to go just the same.

 _Those skinny Mistclan cats won't know what hit them!_

"Smell anything different?" Snakeheart's question stopped Nightpaw's train of thought. They had crossed the border.

 _What will happen to me if we lose the fight?_ Nightpaw wondered. He looked around at the large patrol of Darkclan warriors that surrounded him. Shadowstar, their leader, had brought a formidable group of cats, but would Mistclan bring their whole clan? Shadowstar had hoped they would just run into a patrol, but they were well beyond the border now, so there was little chance that the fight would just be with a small group. Just then, a group of Mistclan cats came over the next rise.

"Mouse dung! They're here!" Shouted a golden furred Darkclan warrior named Ryefur. By the looks of it, there was a very large group of Mistclan warriors coming their way. This even included Froststar herself!

"What are you doing here?" Demanded a dark gray Mistclan tom that Nightpaw recognized as Duskpelt.

"We are here to claim some of your territory!" Snakeheart told him. "And we will fight for it if we need to!" He yowled.

"Darkclan is in need of more prey, so give us your territory kindly, or fight us." Shadowstar challenged.

"Why would you need more prey? Greenleaf is in full bloom, so your prey should be plentiful!" A Mistclan cat named Stormface growled.

"We don't need to answer to you, crowfood eaters!" Yowled a Darkclan tom, Ravenflight. He unsheathed his claws and snarled at the Mistclan cats. Without speaking further, the Mistclan and Darkclan cats pelted towards each other. Each side let out terrifying caterwauls.

 _It's time to fight!_ Nightpaw unsheathed his claws and charged into battle next to his clanmates, loving the feeling of the wind in his fur and the moorland grass between his claws.

Snakeheart was attacked first. Being hit straight on by Breezeheart, the Mistclan warrior that Nightpaw had encountered earlier. They furiously wrestled on the ground matching each other blow for blow.

Nightpaw had been too busy watching his mentor that he didn't notice another smaller silver cat running towards him. He whipped around and blocked the small cat's attack just in time. He forced the cat off of him and braced himself to fight. This cat looked to be an apprentice, but he was very small, even compared to the other Mistclan cats.

"We'll take your land yet!" Nightpaw snarled at the apprentice.

"We'll never give you our territory! You Darkclan cats are just greedy!" The small tom insulted Nightpaw as he charged. The loud screeching and yowling from the battle was distracting Nightpaw from his fight, but he wouldn't let it lower his battle skill.

"That's what you think!" He hit the tom head on, forcing him back. Nightpaw was preparing to pin him down and strike, but the small cat slithered from his grasp and scored his claws down Nightpaw's haunches. He winced from the pain, but managed to kick out one of his back legs, hitting the apprentice square in the side.

"Ah!" The cat yelped. He was sent sprawling a few tail-lengths, but he scrambled back to his feet and dashed at Nightpaw once more. Nightpaw swiped a paw at where he expected the cat to be, but the apprentice ducked under it with incredible reaction time.

 _Now!_ Nightpaw thought. Just as Nightpaw's opponent dodged his attack, he slammed his paw into the cat's head as he was recovering. The small apprentice flew back from the impact of Nightpaw's attack.

Nightpaw watched the cat sail through the air, and quickly noticed that the tom was headed straight towards a steep ledge. The ledge went down several fox-lengths, and the cat's neck would surely be broken if he fell.

 _No! I won't let a cat die!_

He leaped into the air and caught the small cat by the scruff of his neck before he could fall to his death. Nightpaw landed hard and set the cat down on the tough moorland grass, panting heavily.

"Th-thanks," said the smaller cat weakly, "My name's Moonpaw."

"No problem. I-I'll never let a cat die, even if they live in a rival clan." Nightpaw panted. Moonpaw looked about ready to reply, but Nightpaw would never find out. A Mistclan warrior named Rosethorn bowled him over and raked her claws down his shoulder. Winded, he lay stunned for a moment.

"You'd better tell your leader that Mistclan can't be beaten so easily!" Rosethorn snarled, raising her thorn sharp claws for a powerful attack. Just before the warrior could deliver the blow, Snakeheart came to the rescue, knocking her off of Nightpaw. The two started attacking each other in a screeching mass of fur, giving Nightpaw time to escape.

"Back off!" He heard Riverpaw shouting at a Mistclan apprentice. Nightpaw had seen her before at gatherings, and knew her as Windpaw. The Mistclan cat was approaching Riverpaw, who seemed worn out. Nightpaw dashed over to Riverpaw signaling a tag team.

"Let's go!" Nightpaw yowled.

"You think teaming up will let you beat me? W-well you're sadly mistaken!" Windpaw taunted. She seemed to be attempting to sound tough in order to intimidate them, but Nightpaw could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

Nightpaw nodded to Riverpaw, and the fight began. They both darted forward and attacked the Mistclan apprentice furiously, but she somehow managed to block most of their blows. Nightpaw prepared an attack to her head, but he flinched from the wound on his shoulder and was unable to deliver the attack in time, giving Windpaw an opening.

"Take this!" She growled, lunging forward to sink her teeth into Nightpaw's neck. He managed to fend off the attack in time, then score his claws down Windpaw's ear. Riverpaw followed up with a powerful strike to her chest. Having had enough, Windpaw retreated into the mass of fighting, screeching cats.

"Nice job!" Nightpaw mewed to Riverpaw.

"Yeah, that was great!" Riverpaw agreed. Their victory was short lived, however, due to the loud yowl that rose above the scene of battle.

"Darkclan, retreat!" It was Shadowstar, giving the command to withdraw. Nightpaw was disappointed that he had lost his first real battle, and Darkclan would need to work harder without that extra territory.

 _I'll train hard for our next battle, then no cat will be able to beat me!_

"Mistclan, the battle is won!" Called Froststar above the crowd. The Darkclan cats growled and snarled back at the Mistclan cats as they pelted back into their own territory.


	8. Chapter 8

Flame

Chapter 7

Flame's run back to the Sunclan camp, as Birchpaw had called it, was difficult at best. The apprentice had led him through countless trees that all looked the same to him.

"Don't worry," Birchpaw said, "Before long, you'll know our whole territory by heart!"

"If you say so." Flame had replied. They waded through a few streams and climbed a few rocks, then finally, they reached a large hollow in the ground with many cats in it. There were dens on all sides, and a huge rock in the middle of the clearing. The entire camp was surrounded by a wall of gorse that must have been the first line of defense from attacks. Near one edge of the camp, a large amount of cats were crowding around what looked to be a pile of dead animals.

"That's the fresh-kill pile. It's less gross than it looks." Birchpaw mewed, catching Flame's eye.

"Wow! This is-" Flame stopped talking when he noticed the dirty glares he was getting from all directions. "Uhh, did I say something?" He asked.

"It's alright. Clan cats don't exactly welcome any newcomers, especially those with kittypet roots." Birchpaw explained.

"Kittypet?" Flame cocked his head to one side.

"It's our word for a house cat." Birchpaw told him. "Now come on, we'll talk to Barkstar. He's our clan leader." Birchpaw bounded towards the huge rock in the center of the clearing, and entered a hollowed out part near the base, pushing through a cover of lichen.

"Hey wait! Ugh." Flame sighed and bounded after his friend. As he entered the den, he saw a nice moss lined nest, and a small pool of water. Birchpaw and a lithe looking brown tom were speaking to each other. _That must be Barkstar._ He thought.

"And I'd like him to join the clan." Birchpaw seemed to be finishing an explanation to his leader about Flame joining the clan.

"Well, we could use more cats," Barkstar said in a low voice, "But he needs to prove himself somehow." Barkstar turned in Flame's direction. Flame dipped his head respectfully.

"Birchpaw and your warriors saved my life. It would be my honor to serve your clan." Flame mewed sincerely, trying to sound as mature as possible. He puffed out his chest in an attempt to improve the effect.

Barkstar seemed to appreciate the respect Flame showed towards him. "Birchpaw, show him around camp, we'll make the decision by sundown." Barkstar proceeded to pad out of his den and into the clearing, clearly dismissing the two young cats.

"Well? Let's go!" Birchpaw exclaimed. He bounded through the lichen in the entrance to the leader's den, followed by Flame who let out another sigh.

Birchpaw showed Flame multiple dens each for different purposes, like the Warrior's den, a den for fully trained cats, the Nursery, a home for queens to take care of their kits, the Apprentices den, which was where Flame would be staying if he was accepted into the clan, and the Elder's den, a place for elderly cats who had finished their duties.

"As you know, that's the fresh-kill pile." He said, again gesturing to the pile of dead mice, voles, squirrels, birds, and a lone rabbit. "I'm sure you've figured out why it's called that by now."

Flame purred in amusement, "Thanks for showing me all this. I wonder what kind of test Barkstar will put me through in order to prove myself." As if on queue, loud pawsteps sounded near the camp entrance.

"Dog!" A terrified voice screeched. Wailing broke out inside the camp. Queens rushed to save their kits, and warriors rushed into action. Flame turned around and saw the exact same dog that attacked him earlier that day.

 _This is my chance!_ Flame thought. Now he could prove himself to Barkstar. He leapt towards the beast and latched himself onto it's side by sinking his claws into it's matted fur, next to the other warriors working to drive it off. The dog snapped it's slobbering jaws, just barely missing Flame. He leaped off and attempted to nip at its ankles, only to get thrown back by the force of it's kick. He got up as fast as he could and rejoined the attack.

"Flame! What are you thinking? You've got no training at all!" Birchpaw yowled from a few tail-lengths away. Flame knew this, of course, and he also knew that he would have no chance against the dog, but even though he wasn't even part of this clan yet, he felt a need to protect them.

"Keep fighting!" A warrior called Thrushflight yelled. There were cats on all sides of the dog, attacking it from every direction. This tactic effectively overwhelmed the dog, forcing it to retreat. It let out a howl of rage and pain, then bounded off into the bushes.

"We did it!" Another cat, a she-cat named Perchfoot, crowed. The Sunclan camp was a bit of a mess. There were cats all over the clearing lying down and panting heavily. No cat seemed seriously hurt, but no cat seemed perfectly healthy either. Flame caught his breath and stood up, shaking his head to clear it.

The cat who had led the dog to camp, an apprentice named Thistlepaw, was being confronted by his mentor, Bramblespot, for leading the dog to camp.

"What were you thinking?" Bramblespot snarled at his apprentice.

"I'm sorry! I was running, and I got seperated from my patrol. I didn't look where I was going, and before I knew it…" Thistlepaw stuttered, "I-I was at the camp."

Seeing how shaken up his apprentice was already, Bramblespot seemed to soften up a bit. "Just look where you're going next time."

Thistlepaw nodded.

"Flame." He heard from behind him. He turned around to see Barkstar standing there.

"Yes?" He replied, "Have you decided what my trial will be?"

"Flame, that was good enough. You fought bravely against that dog, and helped save the clan. That alone is enough for us to welcome you." Barkstar said, looking proud.

Flame dipped his head, "Thank you!" _I can't believe I'm about to join a clan!_ He thought excitedly.

"Now then, Flame," Barkstar mewed, "We shall have your apprentice ceremony now. Are you of the age of six moons?" He questioned.

"Yes, Barkstar." Flame replied.

"Then you shall become an apprentice." Barkstar said. He turned away and bounded up the huge rock in the center of the clearing. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath the highrock for a clan meeting!" He yowled over the crowd of recovering cats.

Slowly cats began to trickle out of the dens and from where the battle had happened, to sit beneath the enormous stone that the leader stood on. Barkstar turned and gestured with his tail for Flamepaw to join him. _Me?_ He wondered. Barkstar beckoned again, clearly directing it at Flame.

 _I guess so._ Flame hesitantly scrambled to the top of the highrock.

Barkstar addressed the cats that sat below him. Flame could make out the faces of a few cats he recognized. He could spot Birchpaw, Thistlepaw, another apprentice, Icepaw, and multiple warriors that Birchpaw had introduced him to. These warriors included a tom named Buzzardshade, a she-cat called Snowsplash, and another tom named Seedfeather.

"As you may have seen, this young cat helped our clan fight off the dog." Barkstar started.

Before he could speak again, a warrior called Dewflower chimed in, "Where did he come from? He doesn't belong here!" Dewflower's comment caused other cats to start questioning their leader.

Barkstar lowered his tail for silence, "A patrol of our warriors saved this cat from that very same dog earlier today, and decided to take him back to camp." Barkstar explained, "He showed courage worthy of a clan cat when fighting that dog, and he wishes to join our clan."

"Are we sure he's fit to join?" A warrior asked.

"He has proven himself to be trustworthy." Barkstar replied simply. The clan leader turned to Flame, "Flame, from this day forth, until you have earn your warrior name, your name will be Flamepaw. Work hard to learn the warrior code and follow it until the day of your death. Your mentor will be Charredpelt."

An ash gray cat with darker tabby stripes walked forward and touched his nose to Flamepaw's. "I will train you to the best of my ability."

"Charredpelt," Barkstar continued, "You did well in training Molenose, and I expect you to do the same with Flamepaw."

Flamepaw's eyes shone with happiness. Until now, he had lived alone in the twolegplace, constantly running from dogs, monsters, twolegs, and everything in between, but now, he had friends, a clan, and a mentor, what more could he want?

 _I'm an apprentice!_

_}*~0~*{_

Flamepaw had now begun his warrior training with Charredpelt as his mentor. He had gone off to a rough start but slowly got the hang of being part of the clan...

It was a few days after when he had helped defeat the dog and he was doing some hunting training.

"Try to avoid stepping on the dry leaves. They make loud crunching noises." Charredpelt advised. Before he could acknowledge his mentor's advice, Flamepaw heard a skittering noise near him and crept towards it. He spotted a plump vole. The vole let out a loud squeak as it spotted him, but he jumped on it, biting its neck in a quick motion before it could escape.

"How was that?" Flamepaw asked, looking up from his fresh-kill.

"Decent, but it had time to alert the other prey in the area. Make it faster next time." Charredpelt criticized. Although Charredpelt for some reason felt the need to point out every little mistake his apprentice made, he was a pretty nice mentor, and most of his slightly nitpicky advice was actually useful.

"Okay, Charredpelt, I'll be quicker." Flamepaw vowed.

"Come on, let's catch some more prey." Charredpelt suggested. Flamepaw nodded his agreement and scraped dirt over his newly caught prey. Flamepaw and Charredpelt hunted until sundown, when they decided that it was time to head back

As they were walking back to camp, Flamepaw lagged behind a small bit, due to the fresh-kill he was carrying, and his all around smaller body-size. He heard rustling in the leaves and looked towards it. A brown cat walked out of a bush with multi-colored leaves in his mouth.

 _A cat from a rival clan! Should I chase him out?_

"What are you doing in Sunclan territory?" He challenged the cat.

"Huh? Oh no! I must have strayed over the border!" The cat mewed worriedly, "I promise I'll leave immediately!"

 _I guess I'll hear him out._ Flamepaw decided. "What are all those leaves for?" He asked the tom.

"These are healing herbs, I'm a medicine cat." The cat explained.

 _A medicine cat? Birchpaw told me about those._ Flamepaw thought.

"Well what are you doing in our territory?" Flamepaw asked.

"Me? I'm just collecting herbs. I'll be off soon." the cat told him, "My name's Reedpaw, if you were wondering."

"Well, Reedpaw, do you need an escort to your own territory?" Flamepaw asked suspiciously.

"No, I'm quite alright." Reedpaw mewed. "Well, I'll see you at the gathering, if I'm lucky."

 _I don't want to see this intruder at the gathering!_ Before Flamepaw could state hit thoughts, however, Reedpaw dashed into the bushes, leaving behind multiple herbs.

Flamepaw kept walking back to camp without saying anything about Reedpaw, especially to Charredpelt. He didn't know if he would get in trouble for letting the cat get away, so he decided to keep it a secret.

"Where were you?" Charredpelt asked when he caught up.

"Just a little behind you, nothing to worry about." Flamepaw responded.

"If you're sure." Charredpelt mewed.

"Oh no!" Flamepaw yowled.

"What is it?" Charredpelt replied, looking around as if they were being attacked.

"I forgot my fresh-kill!"

By the time Flamepaw and his mentor made it back to camp, the sun was falling in the sky, casting an eerie orange glow over the sky. The faint shape of the full moon was shining. Inside the camp, Barkstar was listing off the names of the cats who would go to the gathering, and to Flamepaw's surprise, this included him.

"What's a gathering?" Flamepaw asked Birchpaw when Barkstar had finished.

"It's when all four clans gather together under the truce of the full moon to discuss news and any problems we're having. It's lots of fun!" Birchpaw replied.

"Oh, it's too bad you can't go." Flamepaw apologized.

Birchpaw looked bright, "It's fine, Flamepaw, I've been before."

Barkstars voice could be heard over the cats crowding near the camp entrance, "It's time to go!


	9. Chapter 9

Baxter

Chapter 8

When Baxter awoke, he found himself in a strange cave. Piles of differently shaped and colored leaves sat in one corner, and a few mossy nests lined the sides off the cave.

"Oh, you're awake." Mewed a brown tabby she-cat, "My name's Ferntail, I'm Mistclan's medicine cat."

 _Medicine cat? What's that? And what is Mistclan?_

"One of our patrols found you out on the edge of our territory. You looked pretty torn up, so they brought you back." Ferntail explained.

 _That's right!_ Baxter thought, _I was hit by a monster, and then they found me. Moonpaw, Mossfoot, and Gorsepaw, was it?_ Baxter attempted to climb to his paws, but an intense pain in his tail caused him to fall back down.

"Agh!" He grunted painfully as he fell back into his feather-lined nest.

Ferntail looked sympathetic, "Don't try to move now, it will only make things worse." She eyed his tail as if there was a bee on it that wanted to sting them. Baxter looked over at his tail to see... barely anything.

"What? Where's my tail?" Baxter wailed, confused.

"When you were hit by the monster, well, you lost more than half of it." Ferntail told him, "That's mostly the reason why you can't stand so well."

"I can't believe it." Baxter mewed, looking at the stump that used to be his tail. Ferntail rested her tail lightly on Baxter's back to comfort him.

"You'll still be able to do most things like a normal cat, but any task that requires a lot of balance will prove much more difficult. Luckily, your life is not in danger now." Ferntail said.

Baxter managed to sit up awkwardly in his nest, "W-where am I now?" He asked Ferntail, scanning his surroundings once more.

"You are in the Mistclan camp," Ferntail said, "Inside the medicine den."

"Who's Mistclan?" He inquired, not knowing what to make of this new thing.

"It's not a cat, it's a clan. Have you not learned of the four warrior clans that roam these lands?" Ferntail asked him. Baxter shook his head. "Well, I'll explain it to you." Ferntail padded a few steps further into the cave and sat down, curling her tail around her paws.

""Thanks." Baxter mewed, waiting expectantly for her words.

"Here, four clans of powerful warrior cats roam. Their names are Sunclan, Darkclan, Stoneclan, and Mistclan. You are currently in Mistclan, as you have been told. These four clans usually live in harmony, but there are battles for territory and other reasons."

"That sounds like a pretty interesting life." Baxter said.

"It is. Within these clans, there is a code we must all follow called the warrior code, and we are all bound to it." Ferntail explained.

"Well, thank you for telling me." Baxter thanked.

"You're welcome." Ferntail responded.

The pain in Baxter's tail had faded a considerable amount, so he struggled to his feet and attempted to stretch himself out. "Where is that patrol? I want to thank them."

"I think you should rest more, but if you feel you must, then I will tell you. Two of them were apprentices, and they should be in the apprentice's den, but the warrior is busy right now." Ferntail told him. Baxter nodded his thanks and trudged out of the medicine den to arrive in the camp.

He turned back to Ferntail, suddenly remembering something, "Hey, where is the apprentice's den exactly?"

"It's the third cave up the trail that leads out of the valley." Ferntail replied. Baxter slowly made his way there and poked his head inside to see only one of the cats who saved him. Gorsepaw was sleeping peacefully in a nest near the middle of the cave.

"Excuse me?" He whispered to Gorsepaw.

"What is it?" Muttered the apprentice, raising her head to look around, "Oh, you're that cat we found. Up and about, I see?"

"Yeah, and I wanted to thank you, Moonpaw, and Mossfoot for saving me." Baxter told her.

"Oh, that's nice." Gorsepaw said sleepily, lying her her head back down on her mossy nest.

"Er, I was wondering if you knew where Moonpaw was." Baxter mewed awkwardly.

"He's in Froststar's den." Gorsepaw yawned.

"Thanks, where's Froststar's den?" Baxter asked her.

"Ugh, you're just clueless, aren't you? It's the furthest cave up the trail." Gorsepaw murmured, almost asleep. Baxter nodded his thanks and continued to climb the slope. When he came to the final cave before the exit to the valley, he brushed through the vines that blocked the entrance and stepped inside.

"He has nowhere else to go, so can he join?" Baxter saw Moonpaw finishing a conversation with a blue eyed white she-cat, who he assumed was Froststar, though he wasn't sure who Froststar was.

"Well, I guess I don't see why not. When I saw him he looked like a strong cat, and to survive a hit like that is a powerful feat." Froststar replied.

"Hey, Moonpaw!" Baxter called over to the gray tom. Moonpaw's head turned to look at Baxter.

His eyes widened, "You're up! Are you ok?" He mewed excitedly.

"Well, I'm better than I was." He said.

"Oh, your tail…" Moonpaw trailed off as his eyes rested on the stump that remained of Baxter's tail.

"It's fine, Ferntail says that it shouldn't affect me too much." Baxter responded, trying to sound cheerful. Then he remembered that Froststar was with them, "Hello, are you Froststar?"

"Yes, I am." Froststar replied.

"She's the clan leader!" Moonpaw added in.

 _The clan leader? She must be important!_ Baxter thought. Froststar certainly looked important, with nicely groomed fur, and a knowledgeable expression.

"So, uh, I wanted to thank you for saving me." Baxter said.

"Oh, yeah, it was no problem! It's fun to rescue cats in need!" Moonpaw chirped.

"Oh, that's good. What are you doing in here?" Baxter mewed, referring to Froststar's den.

"He was asking if you could join the clan." Froststar said, answering for Moonpaw.

Baxter looked surprised, "Me? Could I really join a clan like this?" He stammered.

"I believe that you are worthy of joining us. Is is your wish to join this clan?" Froststar asked him.

"I… uh…" Moonpaw nodded at him encouragingly, "I guess I will!" He finished.

Moonpaw started yammering about what they would do, "Yes! Let me show you around, and have you try fresh-kill, and-"

"Moonpaw, you're forgetting he needs to have an apprentice ceremony." Froststar pointed out.

"Oh, yeah." Moonpaw said, embarrassed.

During the rest of the day, Baxter spent his time being introduced to the rest of the clan, and resting his tail. Eventually, the time came for Baxter to have his apprentice ceremony.

"Baxter, step forward." Froststar told him. She was standing on a ledge that hung over the camp that protruded from the trail that led to each den. Sparkpaw hesitantly padded forward to look up at Froststar. "Do you wish to join this clan?"

Baxter looked back at Moonpaw, who gestured for him to continue, "I do." He said sincerely.

"Then from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Sparkpaw." Froststar mewed.

 _I'm really joining a clan!_ He thought.

"Snowflight, you will mentor Sparkpaw. You have learned how it feels to be an outsider, so train this apprentice well." Froststar said, looking at a white she-cat.

"I will train him as well as I can manage." Snowflight told her.

Thinking back to earlier when he had been talking to Moonpaw, he remembered being told that Snowflight wouldn't be an easy mentor to have. _I wonder why that is._

"Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw!" Moonpaw began calling his new name, soon to be joined by the rest of Mistclan. Sparkpaw could barely believe that after all he had been through in the last six moons, his life was finally turning around.

 _I'm an apprentice!_


	10. Chapter 10

Moonpaw

Chapter 9

The normally excited mood of the Gathering was subdued due to the aftermath of the battle with Darkclan, but Froststar listed off the names for the gathering as usual.

"For the gathering, Sandfur, Brightcloud, Branchwhisker, Thrushtail, Grayfrost, Hazelshade, Heronflight, Weaseltooth, Breezeheart, Ferntail, Shinewing, Moonpaw, Streampaw, Gorsepaw, and Windpaw."

"Yes!" Moonpaw exclaimed to Gorsepaw.

"I wish I could come…" Sparkpaw said glumly. The golden-furred tom had only just become an apprentice the day before, so it was natural that he wasn't invited.

"Well, Maybe next moon." Gorsepaw replied sympathetically, obviously excited out of her fur.

"Sparkpaw here is going to use this time for training." Snowflight meowed, resting her tail on Sparkpaw's head.

"What? Training at night?" Sparkpaw protested. Even though he had only been in Mistclan for a day, Snowflight was already pushing him harder than most mentors would.

"Well look at the bright side! You'll be able to do battle training with us now!" Streampaw added, "Although, that may not be a good thing for you!" The young she-cat swiped a paw through the air as if she was in the middle of battle.

"Yeah! I'm tired of fighting Gorsepaw." Moonpaw put in. _They seem to be welcoming him. It's almost like he was always in Mistclan!_

"Okay, well I'll see you guys later," Sparkpaw meowed, sighing as he was led off to the training area by a slightly annoyed Snowflight.

"Cats going to the Gathering, come with me!" Froststar yowled, jumping down from the highledge and pushing her way briskly through the camp entrance. Moonpaw fell into step beside Mossfoot, as they padded out of the camp.

"What do you think Darkclan will be like after the battle?" Moonpaw inquired, kicking a recently fallen leaf. He had never been to a gathering before, so he was excited to meet the other clans.

"If I know them, they won't want to mention the fact that they lost." Mossfoot replied smugly, clearly thinking about the fight.

"Sunclan seems like they might be a little full of themselves." Moonpaw mewed, remembering a time when Gorsepaw told Moonpaw about some Sunclan cats they had seen in fourtrees. When the Mistclan patrol asked them what they were doing there, the four cats from Sunclan, Willowwing the deputy, Buzzardshade, Dewflower, and Charredpelt hadn't given anything away. Gorsepaw did like to exaggerate, however.

"Gorsepaw ran into a particularly smug bunch of cats there. The rest of Sunclan isn't like that." Windpaw told him, padding over. Windpaw had already been to a gathering the moon before, so she knew how it worked better than Moonpaw did.

Soon the huge clearing and enormous oaks that were fourtrees came into view. Looking down into the clearing, Moonpaw saw all three other clans already sitting and gossiping.

"Go!" Froststar signaled with her tail to descend into fourtrees. Moonpaw pelted forwards after the rest of his clan, then skidded to a halt at the bottom of the slope. When the Mistclan cats stopped, they were greeted by unwelcoming growls from the Darkclan cats.

 _They must still be mad about the battle! We beat them! Why can't they just let it go?_ Moonpaw thought. He looked up at the three clan leaders perched on the small tree in the center of the clearing. Barkstar of Sunclan, Gravelstar of Stoneclan, and Shadowstar of Darkclan. Froststar bounded over to the tree and leaped into its branches. The tree's limb bent under her weight, but didn't fall. Sandfur joined the other deputies at the tree's roots, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws.

"I'm going to go look around." Moonpaw told Mossfoot.

"Okay, but don't go giving anything away to the other apprentices. The last thing we need right now is another battle." Mossfoot replied.

Moonpaw nodded to his mentor and bounded off. _Where is he?_ He searched the crowd of cats for Nightpaw, the apprentice who saved his life in the battle. Finally, he spotted the black pelt and green eyes of Nightpaw. He pushed his way through the mass of fur until he reached Nightpaw. He was sitting in the middle of a group of apprentices he didn't recognize.

"Hey, Nightpaw!" He mewed.

Nightpaw turned to look at him, "Oh, you're that cat from the battle! Moonpaw, was it?"

"Yeah, and thanks for that! I would be dead if it weren't for you saving me." Moonpaw chirped. It seemed that Nightpaw was in a better mood than the rest of his clanmates.

"How's your training treating you?" Nightpaw asked.

"Well, battle training is pretty tough, but I'm one of the best hunters!" Moonpaw mewed, "Well, out of the apprentices."

Nightpaw mrrowed with laughter, "You know, we should have a rematch someday. One where you don't go flying off a cliff."

"Yeah, we should," Moonpaw replied with amusement. A bit of ginger fur caught his eye and he turned to see an orange tabby-tom looking uncertainly at them.

"Err, hello, my name's Flamepaw!" He said awkwardly, "Is it okay if I sit with you for the gathering?"

 _This cat seems really nervous. Best to be nice to him, I guess,_ Moonpaw decided, "Sure, why not!" He chirped. Looking to Nightpaw, he saw the dark apprentice looking irritated. "Uh, right Nightpaw?"

"Fine, he can stay." Nightpaw mewed, looking away.

"I'm new in Sunclan, so I don't completely understand all this stuff." Flamepaw told him, ignoring Nightpaw's attitude.

"What do you mean by that?" Moonpaw inquired.

"Well, I'm not exactly what you would call clanborn." Flamepaw responded, scuffling his paws on the ground.

"Just get to the point!" Nightpaw growled, turning to the ginger tom.

"Yeah, I'm getting to it!" Flamepaw retorted, "Basically, I was a house-cat, er, kittypet, but I ran away from my twolegs and became a loner."

"Really?" Moonpaw's eyes were wide, "You ate kittypet food?"

"Yeah, I guess I did, although I can't remember it now." Flamepaw told him, "Now to how I joined the clan."

"Finally." Nightpaw mumbled.

"I was being attacked by a dog, but then a patrol of Sunclan cats leaped out of the forest and sent it running away, squealing like an injured mouse!" Flamepaw explained, clawing the air.

"Must've been a small dog." Nightpaw muttered.

"Then I got to go back to camp. They showed me around, and Barkstar said that I would need to prove myself to join." Flamepaw continued.

 _Barkstar?_ Moonpaw thought. _Oh, right, the Sunclan leader._ He looked up at the brown tom sitting on one of the higher branches of the trees.

"Bet you didn't have to prove much." Nightpaw continued his passive-aggressive mumbles.

Flamepaw, impervious to Nightpaw's comments, continued his story. "Then, with some surprisingly good timing, the same dog showed up at the camp and started attacking. A bunch of warriors attacked it, and for some reason, so did I!"

"That wasn't very smart." Nightpaw mewed.

"I managed to not die, so Barkstar let me become an apprentice." Flamepaw finished, panting after talking for so long.

"Well, that's all well and good, but the gathering is going to start soon, so I'd recommend you stop talking." Nightpaw put in.

"Can I sit here?" Mewed a voice from behind them. Moonpaw turned around to see a light brown tom. He soon recognized the cat as Reedpaw, one of the apprentice medicine cats from Stoneclan.

"Shouldn't you be sitting with your mentor?" Nightpaw asked, apparently recognizing the cat as well.

"Ashnose said I could talk to some other cats." Reedpaw replied simply.

"Well then I don't see why not!" Moonpaw mewed cheerfully. Reedpaw nodded his thanks and sat down.

While Nightpaw seemed fine with the new arrival, Flamepaw was not quite overjoyed, "I don't want him to sit here…" The ginger apprentice mewed.

 _Do they know each other somehow?_ Moonpaw wondered. He turned his attention to the clan leaders when he heard Froststar's yowl.

"It's time to start the gathering!" The white she-cat announced, "I shall go first." She stepped forward and began to describe Mistclan's current state.

"Since when did she rule the forest?" Nightpaw muttered to Moonpaw.

"Yeah! Why'd she get to go first?" Flamepaw agreed. The look on Nightpaw's face told Moonpaw that he'd rather take back his comment now that Flamepaw had agreed with it.

"Shh! You'll get us into trouble." Reedpaw reminded the three apprentices. Moonpaw turned back to the leaders where Froststar was still speaking.

"This has been a good greenleaf for us so far. It has brought us good prey and high spirits. We also have two new apprentices, Moonpaw and Streampaw!" Moonpaw puffed out his chest as cats called his name. "Our warriors are recovering well from our battle with Darkclan," She continued, "And we are ready to fight off a counterattack if one is to come." There was an edge to her mew, and she looked at Shadowstar when she said it.

Shadowstar moved forwards, out of the shadows. The moon struck his dark pelt, making him look silver. "That's good to hear, Froststar, but are you sure we can't negotiate over that territory?" He kept his cool, even after Froststar's threat.

 _Really? He thinks we'll give them our territory?_ He tried to see what Nightpaw might be thinking, but the apprentice's face revealed nothing.

"We owe you nothing, Shadowstar. Why would we hand over territory to cats who tried to take it from us by force?" Froststar challenged.

A Darkclan warrior named Mosseyes rose to his feet. "How dare you? Darkclan has assisted you in the past!"

"The past is behind us now." Froststar told him. Mosseyes sat back down with a low growl.

"Froststar!" Ferntail was calling from the roots of the tree, "I need to speak with you!"

"Please excuse me," Froststar addressed the cats in the clearing. She leaped down from her branch and started discussing something with Ferntail.

"I wonder what they're talking about." Reedpaw mewed quietly.

"Probably the best strategy to fight Darkclan." Nightpaw snarled.

"At a gathering?" Flamepaw mewed, "No way!"

"Guys, Froststar is talking again." Moonpaw pointed out. The three other apprentices looked up to the tree here Froststar had jumped back up to her perch.

"Ferntail has told me that we need herbs, so I might be willing to exchange a small stretch of our territory for the herbs we require." Froststar declared. A ripple of mixed emotions rippled through the cats of Mistclan. It seemed that some agreed and some disagreed with this decision.

Shadowstar exchanged a glance with Toadeye, the medicine cat, and looked back to Froststar, "What herbs do you need?" He sighed as he spoke.

Ferntail stepped forward to make her voice more clear, "We are running low on dock leaves and marigold, and it couldn't hurt to have some extra catmint as well."

Toadeye began to speak, "I shall bring them over to your camp at dawn tomorrow, but only if you give us the territory."

"Do you expect us to go back on our word?" Froststar challenged,

"I wouldn't dream of it, Froststar." Shadowstar replied coolly. Froststar nodded her head and stepped back, clearly done speaking. "Then it's done." Shadowstar finished.

Now that Mistclan and Darkclan had negotiated it was time for Sunclan to speak. Barkstar stepped forward.

"This season has been good to us. Prey runs well, and our warriors are healthy." The brown tom mewed, "We have also welcomed a new apprentice into our clan. Flamepaw, stand up."

Moonpaw turned to see the ginger tom rising hesitantly to his feet, looking embarrassed. _I know how he feels._ Moonpaw had even felt embarrassed at his apprentice ceremony, so he knew how it must be for Flamepaw.

The clans cheered half-heartedly for the new apprentice. It seemed they were confused as to where he came from, considering none of them remembered an announcement about kits.

"He was a rogue." Moonpaw heard a Blackstripe of Sunclan whisper.

"Really?" Weaseltooth, an irritable, bad tempered Mistclan warrior mewed back, turning to look at the dark tom.

"Yes." replied Blackstripe, "And before that, he was a kittypet!"

"So Sunclan is so weak they are accepting rogues into their clan?" Weaseltooth challenged, leaping to his feet.

"Flamepaw earned his place within the clan by helping us fight off a dog that entered our camp. His bravery proved him worthy of being part of Sunclan." Barkstar replied, slightly irritated by Weaseltooth's boldness.

"Was it bravery, or stupidity?" Nightpaw mewed under his breath.

 _Why does Weaseltooth have to be so annoying?_ Moonpaw wondered, "Sit back down!" he yowled, rising to his feet. He received a stern glance from Froststar, so he sank back to the ground.

"Hey? Where'd Flamepaw go?" Reedpaw asked, looking around for any sign of the small ginger apprentice.

Moonpaw scanned the group of cats, and saw the flame-colored tom sneaking up behind Weaseltooth. As he watched, Flamepaw slammed his paws down on the Mistclan warrior's tail, and vanished back into the crowd. Weaseltooth whirled around, ready to attack, but Flamepaw had already disappeared. Moments later, he plopped down next to Moonpaw, acting like nothing had happened.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Moonpaw mewed, stifling a fit of laughter. He saw Flamepaw doing the same.

"Look at the moon!" Speckleface of Stoneclan yowled. Moonpaw glanced up at the moon, and saw dark clouds partly obscuring it, casting a large shadow across the clearing of cats.

"Starclan is angry!" Ripplefur, also from Stoneclan meowed. The arguing cats quieted down at this, and looked back to the clan leaders. Slowly, the clouds drifted away, fully revealing the moon.

Gravelstar decided that he would speak next. "Stoneclan has plenty of prey, but some of our cats are suffering from whitecough. However, Ashnose, Mintleaf, Reedpaw, and Swallowpaw have cured all but one of the sick cats." Moonpaw glanced at Reedpaw, to see him bouncing up and down with excitement at being mentioned at a Gathering. "That is all."

"If that is all you feel the need to say, Gravelstar, then I will speak next." Shadowstar mewed. "Darkclan is recovering quickly from our battle, and prey is running well. We have named two new apprentices, Quickpaw and Runningpaw." He waited for the cheering to die down, then continued. "There was fresh fox scent near the border with Sunclan, so keep an eye out for it."

"Thank you, Shadowstar." Barkstar dipped his head to the Darkclan leader.

"Every clan has spoken! The gathering is over!" As soon as Gravelstar yowled those words, the gathering dispersed into the four clans.

"Bye, guys!" Moonpaw called to the other apprentices.

"Bye…" Nightpaw muttered. "Hopefully I won't see you later."

"See you!" Flamepaw replied.

"Till next time!" Reedpaw mewed cheerfully. With that, Moonpaw bounded over to his clanmates. Windpaw, Gorsepaw, and Streampaw were all discussing the gathering.

Windpaw turned to him. "Hey, where were you? We couldn't see you anywhere!"

"I was… with some other apprentices." He explained awkwardly. "Anyways, I'm really tired. I feel like I could pass out anywhere right now!"

"What about on top of a monster?" Gorsepaw challenged.

"Totally."

"No way!" Streampaw protested. "No cat would do that. What if it wakes up and attacks you?"

"Er, I could fight it off!" Moonpaw chirped, motioning an attack to a monster's hard muzzle.

"Yeah, right!" Windpaw mewed with amusement.

"It's time to go!" Froststar stated, flicking her tail. She started out of the clearing towards Mistclan territory, followed by the rest of her clan.

 _I wonder when I'll see them again._ Satisfied by his first gathering, Moonpaw followed his clan into the undergrowth.


	11. Chapter 11

Reedpaw

Chapter 10

"Every clan has spoken! The gathering is over!" At Gravelstar's words, all four clans split into their own groups, clumping together at the edges of the clearing. The four leaders leaped down from their branches to join their clans.

"Bye!" Reedpaw called back to the other apprentices as he padded over to Ashnose.

"I'm glad we aren't the ones giving herbs to Darkclan. We can't spare any because of Mapleleaf's sickness." Ashnose mewed once Reedpaw had reached her.

"I'm worried he'll infect Daisysplash since she's constantly coming to check on him." Mintleaf said, bounding over next to Sparrowpaw. Daisysplash was Mapleleaf's sister, so she did have some right to be worried, but Reedpaw felt she went a bit overboard.

"It's turning quickly into greencough as well." Ashnose fretted.

"Then we'll just have to cure him before it does!" Sparrowpaw mewed cheerfully. "An advantage to having sickness come during greenleaf is that there's plenty of fresh herbs to collect!"

"That may be true," Reedpaw replied, "but we nearly cleaned out our stores of catmint while curing all of the other sick cats! It'll be a while before the catmint grows back."

"It's time to go!" Gravelstar announced. He flicked his tail and marched out of the clearing, followed by Reedpaw and the rest of their clanmates.

"I'm really worried about Mapleleaf getting greencough. If he does, so could the rest of the clan, and an outbreak of deadly sickness is the last thing we need right now." Sparrowpaw whispered.

"I'm sure we can deal with it no problem. There's four medicine cats!" Reedpaw pointed out.

"Well, two medicine cats and two medicine cat apprentices." Ashnose said, apparently listening in on their conversation.

"Like that makes any difference!" Reedpaw protested. He heard Sparrowpaw stifling a purr of amusement.

Finally, the cats of Stoneclan made it back to the camp. Reedpaw's clanmates were immediately bombarded with questions, but after the gathering, Reedpaw just wanted to sleep. He plodded over to the medicine cat's den, his paws feeling heavier than stones. He settled down in his soft, mossy nest and lay down his head.

 _Only five…_

 _What was that?_ Reedpaw opened his eyes and raised his head to look around. What had that strange whispering been? Probably just the wind. He lay back down, but before he could close his eyes, an image of five cats sitting together flashed before him. In a split second, it had disappeared. Surprised, but too tired to care, Reedpaw closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.

He awoke in a strange forest. He looked around, taking in the mist drifting through the trees. His vision flashed around him, and suddenly, he was standing just outside a cave filled with gems. Inside, he could barely make out shadows of cats, way bigger than any clan cat. A giant roar pierced the air.

 _That can't be good._ Some instinct told him that this was not a good place to be. He turned ready to run, but saw blood, a river of blood blocking his escape. He started panting in terror. A calming scent wreathed around him, and a soft mew sounded in his ear.

" _When ancient evil is stirring, only five cats have the power to stop it,"_ It said. Reedpaw whipped around, searching for the one who had spoken, but he saw nothing. Fear coursed through him, making him quiver.

Suddenly, Reedpaw saw five cats, sitting in a clearing. _The same image as before!_ They were surrounded by starry-furred cats. As he leaned closer, he could see a small silver and white cat, _That looks like Moonpaw!_ A flame-colored tabby, _Is that Flamepaw?_ A black long-furred cat, _Nightpaw?_ A Bushy-tailed brown tabby, _Could that be me?_ And a big, golden-furred cat. _I wonder who that is?_ _Are we the cats in the prophecy? Starclan, show me more!_

" _Do not worry,"_ mewed the same voice as before, " _All will come in due time."_

"Wait! Tell me now!" Reedpaw protested. He spun around, looking again for the cat that was speaking. As he expected, he saw nothing.

" _We… can never… be… stopped…"_ Another voice spoke now. It was rougher, angrier, and deeper. Reedpaw saw the shadow of a cat staggering through the mist. Another loud roar sounded, and Reedpaw was jolted into awakeness.

Soft breathing could be heard in the medicine den, but every so often it was interrupted by a coughing fit from Mapleleaf. Reedpaw sighed. Ashnose, Mintleaf, and Swallowpaw were all sleeping soundly in their nests. Reedpaw climbed to his feet and brushed out of the medicine den. The sun was just rising over the horizon, casting an eerie glow over the landscape. The cats of Stoneclan were just waking up and going about their business within the camp.

Briarshade was washing herself outside the warriors den, Grasspaw and Dewpaw were having a mock battle by the apprentice's den, while the elders, Copperheart, Eagleshine, and Jaypelt, were enjoying the first rays of sunshine on a flat stone.

"I want Clovertuft to lead a patrol with Heatherpelt, and Whitesky to patrol the Sunclan border," Foxtail, the deputy, was organizing the patrols for the day with the warriors that were awake crowding around her.

"Reedpaw," mewed a voice. Reedpaw turned and saw Ripplefur limping slowly towards him.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked. "What happened to your paw?"

Ripplefur lifted his front paw to reveal a large thorn lodged tightly in his pad.

Reedpaw's eyes widened. "That's a big one, let me get that out for you." Ripplefur nodded his head gratefully and sat down. Reedpaw closed his teeth around the thorn and began to pull lightly, wincing at Ripplefur's squeak of pain.

Reedpaw hesitated. "I'm fine," Ripplefur reassured him. Nodding discreetly, Reedpaw pulled harder, dislodging the thorn and pulling it out. He spat it out on the ground, licking his lips to clear his mouth of it's taste.

"There you go, Ripplefur, you should be fine now." Reedpaw told the brown she-cat.

"Thanks! I was going to find it hard to hunt like that." Ripplefur mewed gratefully. She bounded off at full speed, acting like an excited kit.

A warm feeling was growing in Reedpaw's chest. Why would anyone ever want to be a warrior if they could help their clan like this? _I love being a medicine cat!_


	12. Chapter 12

Flamepaw

Chapter 11

Flamepaw bounded through the crowd of bustling cats until he reached his clan. He recognized Barkstar standing at the head of the group, flanked by Willowwing and Moonwatcher.

"Hey, Flamepaw!" called a voice. Flamepaw saw a white apprentice running towards him.

 _Icepaw._

"I didn't see you all gathering! Where were you?" She asked, skidding to a halt.

Flamepaw jumped back a mouse-length to avoid the dust she had kicked up. "I found some apprentices from other clans, and I sat with them," he explained.

"You didn't happen to reveal any clan secrets, did you?" Challenged another voice. Thistlepaw padded up to them, sneering at Flamepaw. "That would be just like you."

"Oh, be quiet, Thistlepaw," Icepaw growled. The gray tom snorted but said nothing more, stalking away.

Flamepaw growled under his breath. Why did Thistlepaw have to be so mean? He couldn't remember ever doing anything bad to him.

"Hey, apprentices, it's time to get going," meowed Molenose, walking past them.

"He's right, we have to move!" Icepaw mewed, bounding away. Flamepaw suddenly realized he had been tearing up the coarse grass with his claws. Looking up, he sprinted after Icepaw.

So far, living in the clans, Flamepaw felt pretty lost. Most of the rules confused him greatly, he barely knew any cat, and he was finding it hard to catch on to their ritual lifestyle, but even so, he felt more at home than he ever had wandering the twolegplace. Out there, there were dogs and rats at every corner, and he had nearly died on multiple occasions. At least in the clans he had food to eat and a warm nest to sleep in. _I never want to leave this place,_ he thought.

The group of Sunclan cats soon made it back to their camp. The moon was falling in the sky, so Flamepaw knew that the sun would be rising soon, but Charredpelt had given him permission to rest until it was time for training.

"So, how was the gathering?" Birchpaw asked, running over to Flamepaw as soon as he emerged into the camp.

"Well," he started, "I nearly thought Shadowstar and Froststar were going to fight it out over some agreement!"

"Oh, wow! What was it about?"

"I think they had a battle recently over piece of territory, and Shadowstar wanted to make an agreement. It's really none of our business, though." Flamepaw finished.

"Anything else?"

Flamepaw thought about what he had done to Weaseltooth, and nearly let out a mrrow of amusement. "No, not that I can remember."

"Oh," Birchpaw looked disappointed.

"What, were you hoping for some kind of war?" Flamepaw joked.

"Only a little bit," Birchpaw replied.

"Yeah, right. None of us look injured at all!"

"Well, you're probably exhausted, especially considering that was your first gathering," Birchpaw pointed out.

"You aren't wrong," Flamepaw yawned.

"Just go to your nest."

Flamepaw nodded and obeyed, hobbling into the apprentices den, his legs weak from fatigue. He flopped lazily into his nest and drifted into sleep almost instantly.

" _Only five can stop what's coming…"_ a voice drifted through Flamepaw's head, as if it was being carried on the wind.

 _It's not windy,_ Flamepaw thought to himself. But if it wasn't windy, what had made the noise? He pushed away the thought and dropped his head into the soft moss of his nest. He pulled back. The moss was damp, although it hadn't rained in any recent times. _I bet Thistlepaw did that on purpose._ Too tired to care, he flopped back over and drifted into sleep.

" _Only five,"_ the voice spoke again. Flamepaw opened his eyes to find himself in a clearing surrounded by thick mist.

 _Where am I? This isn't the apprentice's den!_ He whipped around and scanned his surroundings. He recognized the faint outline of trees behind the mist, their highest branches rising just barely over the fog.

" _You are dreaming, young one,"_ the voice reassured. Flamepaw stiffened. How had it known what he was thinking?

"Who are you?" Flamepaw looked around for the source of the voice, finding nothing.

" _That is not information you yet require, but remember this; Only five can stop what's coming,"_ the voice said ominously.

"That's not helpful! What's coming?" five different pelts suddenly flashed in front of his vision. Ginger tabby, black, brown, silver and white, and golden. _Those colors match the apprentices I met at the gathering! Well, except for the golden one, I don't remember anyone like that. That wouldn't make sense, though. Why would it be us?_

Flamepaw was jerked into complete blackness. His heart beating faster, he whipped around, searching for any way out. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he found himself in a cave. Stone walls stretched around him, covered in shining crystals of many colors. The cave branched off in smaller passageways pointing five different directions.

" _Nothing can stop us…"_ rasped a much lower and more menacing voice than before. Flamepaw knew better than to look for the speaker this time. " _Not even you so called 'five!'"_

A glinting claw flashed towards Flamepaw, but he ducked just before it could rake his muzzle.

 _Who did that?_ Flamepaw lept backwards just as another paw swiped towards him. _Agh!_ A claw caught his nose, drawing blood.

" _You puny clans think you can stop us?"_ the voice continued. " _You're dead wrong!"_

Flamepaw awoke to a paw prodding his side. "Hey, Flameloner! You woke us all up!" mewed an irritated voice. When his vision cleared he saw Thistlepaw standing over him.

"Sorry!" He sat up and gave his chest a few embarrassed licks. Icepaw and Birchpaw were washing themselves a tail-lengths away, preparing to go on hunting patrol.

Icepaw looked up between licks. "You were yowling and everything! It must have been some nightmare you were having."

"Yeah," Flamepaw said. "Some nightmare."

"I need to get going. I've got some hunting to do!" Birchpaw told them. The pale-furred cat charged out of the den.

"So, Flamepaw," Icepaw started. "What was that dream like?"

Flamepaw thought back about his dream. All of the voices were so confusing… then a certain phrase rang in his head. _Only five._ "It was nothing."

Icepaw looked disappointed. "Okay, I guess."

"Hey, Dorkpaw!" Thistlepaw said to Flamepaw mockingly.

Flamepaw sighed at the remark, but decided against saying anything. "Yes, Thistlepaw?"

"Charredpelt and Bramblespot want us to go on dawn patrol with them, so we'd better get moving," the tom explained.

"Alright." Flamepaw followed Thistlepaw into the clearing without another thought of his dream


End file.
